Is that really all?
by TheHunter747
Summary: A story about a boy and his Lucario, and how both find love in an unexpected place-a school. Rated T for later chapters. Open to reviews of all kind, but keep it constructive at least.
1. The New Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Lucario, or any of the other Pokemon named within this story. I also owe credit to several different authors, for inspiring me and laying down foundations for this work. I would especially like to thank dairu123, for laying down the setting and main inspiration for this story. Thank you!**

Me and Lucario had been travelling the Sinnoh region for a while now, and we were near the bottom of Stark Mountain, having hiked up and down the mountain on a whim of no importance whatsoever. The training was useful at least. Heh. What we didn't realize was that we would soon be training in a different sort of way.

We had run out of food, you see, having only packed the bare essentials for our little hike, and were nowhere near a town or city, so there was no way of getting food from there. So we were relieved when a large building loomed on the horizon, with people milling about- not many, right enough. Four, I could see, but they had Pokemon with them.

"Where there's people, there's usually food, right Lucario?"

"Might as well go. I'm hungry."

Running towards the building, we started racing, and I accidentaly ran headlong into an important-looking man in a suit.

"Sorry sir, didn't see you there."

Turning round, the kind-looking man reached down and helped me to my feet. Surprised by this, and momentarily caught unawares, I asked where me and Lucario had run into.

"My dear boy, this is a school."

Confused, I looked at the three trainers milling about- a boy, maybe a couple years younger than me, and a couple of girls, who were looking at me oddly, as though I was some kind of morbid fascination to them- then back to the person I _presumed _was in charge.

"Sorry, but this doesn't look like any school I've ever seen. I thought trainer schools only tutored until the age of ten, when the kids became full-fledged trainers."

Now the principal-at least, I took him to be the principal-looked at me oddly, then his face burst into a huge, beaming smile that threw me off-guard again.

"Mark, you sly old dog! No pun intended, by the way. How've you been? Haven't seen you and Lucario in two whole years! You'll have to tell me all about your adventures. But, where's John?"

It was my turn to look at him oddly- which I did, forcing his smile to drop a bit.

"Sorry to shatter your illusions, sir, but, my name's Wallace, and I don't know anybody called John."

A look of realization finally dawned on the principal's face.

"Oh, I see! Forgive me, I mistook you for an old student of mine, who also had a female Lucario as a partner. Well, I'm the principal of this school, and the three trainers over there are three of our students."

"Three students? Geez, not exactly the biggest school in the world then, are you?"

Laughing and smiling, the principal shook his head.

"No, we actually have four students. We are very exclusive about our entry requirements. However, we aren't a traditional school. We focus on trying to bring Pokemon and their trainers together on an emotional level. The entry requirements, should you wish to apply for the course, are quite straightforward, yet a test of your bond with your Pokemon partner. If you can beat a trainer of your choice from this school, you may sit the course."

Looking across to Lucario, I had a quick mental exchange with her about whether or not we should try and enter the course. She seemed to think it was a good idea, so the two of us agreed to challenge one of the trainers from the school.

"Wonderful news, my dear... oh, um...oh, dear, I am terrible with names. What did you say yours was again?"

"It's Wallace, sir."

"Wonderful. Oh, and there's no need for the 'sir' part. Now, choose a trainer to challenge, and have at it!"

Looking at the three, I eventually decided that I would have a better chance of winning if I challenged someone younger and less experienced than me, so I challenged the boy- whose name turned out to be Max.

Maneuvering us both over to the battle arena, the principal announced the rules of the challenge-one Pokemon each, one-on-one battle, if a Pokemon's unable to battle they lose, etcetera. Sending Lucario out onto the battlefield, I waited to see what type of Pokemon Max would send out.

"Inferno, come on out!"

A Blaziken materialised, and both Pokemon and trainer spent a while trying to psyche us out. Well, I wasn't having any of that.

"Lucario! Extremespeed, then follow up with Close Combat, now!"

"Dodge it, and then use Retaliate, Blaziken!"

Unfortunately for Max, my tried-and-tested Contest/battle formula still worked, and Lucario's hail of light,speedy attacks started to take their toll on the bigger Pokemon.

"Alright, Lucario, keep at it! Don't give them an inch!"

"Blaziken, Fire Spin, now!"

Starting to transform into a huge column of fire, Blaziken smirked slightly-or was that my imagination- and I started to wonder if they had planned this course of action from the beginning.

"Lucario, get back, quickly!"

"Blaziken, follow and continue attacking!"

I'll give Max one thing- he sure as hell knows how to counterattack any strategy. I was flinging close-quarter attacks and long-distance attacks at him, and he still managed to counter them. Infuriated, I decided to use the ace up my sleeve.

"Lucario, use our little trick now!"

Smirking coldly, Lucario started to bring her paws up as though to attack- and disappeared!

"Blaziken, be ready for an attack from any side. Keep on your toes."

Reappearing behind Max, Lucario looked at me questioningly, and I nodded. Using our original tactics of speed, Lucario used Extremespeed, followed by Close Combat on Blaziken again. This proved to be more than the large, but badly hurt, Pokemon could take, as Blaziken toppled to the ground shortly after Lucario started this second volley of attacks. Holding his hands out to signal the end of the match, the principal finished his duties as commentator on a high note.

"And the winner is... Wallace and Lucario! Congratulations, you are now able to enter the school, and undergo training to become stronger both physically and emotionally. Will you accept this offer?"

Smiling because of the victory we had achieved, we both nodded and voiced our agreement together, yet separately, each looking forward to the interesting adventures this was sure to bring each of us.


	2. Making Friends

A/N: Sorry for not having updated this in so long, but exams are one hell of a writer's block. Before I begin, yes, I did change certain aspects of the first chapter, and once again, credit to dairu123 for this location, and the idea of the story. The plot lines will differ, greatly, but I strongly recommend people to check out some of his work. Also, in addition to the location, I don't own Pokemon. I'm still waiting for Satoru Iwata to return my calls, but so far, no luck. On with the story! Oh, BTW, this chapter-and probably the rest of the story- is going to be written in the third-person. I can write in first-person narrative, but I prefer third-person.

"So, Wallace, what was that little trick you used on us back there?"

Max and Wallace had already become fast friends, and were busy discussing their tactics in the battle. Lucario was looking at the two with disdain, clearly not impressed by them.

"Heh, I just bet you'd like to know what that was! Well, I guess I could tell you. It's not like you could copy it or anything, after all!"

"Why on earth not? I mean, is it difficult to manage, or something only Lucario can do, or what? What is it?"

"It's simple, actually. It's Teleport."

"Yeah right. What is it actually?"

"I'm serious. It's Teleport."

"Well, in that case, HOW DID YOU TEACH A LUCARIO TELEPORT?"

The other students-who had been joined during the battle by another girl- all looked over at that outburst, and the two girls in the group burst into fits of laughter. Finally, one of them walked over, still hysterical.

"Max, you idiot. You can't teach a Lucario how to use Teleport. That's impossible."

"Oh, be quiet, May. Like you'd know anything about any Pokemon besides your Beautifly anyway."

"Actually, Max, May's right on this one."

At this, May stuck her tongue out at Max and pulled a face.

"Well, then how does your Lucario know Teleport?"

"Breeding's the key. A Pokemon Egg, when it hatches, will always have certain moves as standard. Most often these moves are hereditary, passed down from the parents."

"Wait, then you bred Lucario?"

"Close, but no. It was actually my dad. He's a pretty good breeder, and he decided to try breeding his Lucario with my mom's Alakazam. The result? A Riolu that knew Teleport. He gave me the Riolu on my tenth birthday, and six years later, she evolved into the lean, mean fighting machine that she is today. Oddly enough, as soon as she evolved, she started to hate me. We have our moments when we get along, but she never seems happy unless she's battling something. I won the Kanto League a year ago, the year after she evolved, and then we decided to go after Sinnoh's League title. We came here to train, not that she needs to train, really."

The others were all looking at Wallace, hanging on his every word. May finally broke the silence.

"But... why? I mean, why does she hate you? You seem like a pretty good trainer, so why can't you get along?"

"I dunno. We never really saw eye to eye over anything after she evolved. I say, the sooner they start to talk, the sooner they start to talk back. I've just accepted that she hates me, and moved on."

Lucario then decided to walk over, anger evident on her eyes.

"If you are all quite finished chattering like Nincada, I would like to get something to eat."

May just laughed at her comment, and informed Wallace and Lucario that dinner wasn't for an hour yet.

"Of course, you're welcome to explore the grounds if you want, and you'll probably want to dump your stuff in your room. Max and I can show you around, if you want."

"Would you? That'd be great, guys. Thanks."

Lucario just had to butt in on the conversation at that point.

"Forgive me, but you just said 'your room'. We don't get our own room?"

"Uh... no. You don't. The point of this school is to bring trainers and their Pokemon closer together, so the trainers share a room with their Pokemon."

Lucario looked like she could have ripped Arceus apart at that point, and May clearly thought so too, since she quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, how about we start to show you around, Wallace?"

Wallace, glad for the temporary distraction, quickly agreed to May's idea. He and Max quickly fell into step behind May, swapping battle tactics the whole time, while Lucario brought up the rear, still looking murderous. While they walked, May pointed out places of interest in the school, such as the gym-which, according to May, Max never used- the swimming pool-which, as Max pointed out, May was inseperable from- the common room for the trainers to use in the evening, after classes had finished, which was fitted with pool tables, video game consoles- May just had to point out that Max spent most of his free time playing video-games against his Blaziken- and a state of the art battle arena for trainers to use-Lucario's eyes lit up at this- and a small kitchen area, and then the living area.

Lucario had to admit to the others that she was impressed by the bedrooms they were given, while Wallace said they wouldn't look out of place in a palace of some variety. May laughed at that, and Max agreed with him. The main things that raised Lucario's mood, however, were that she wouldn't have to sleep in the dirt, or on the floor-there were several massive four-poster beds in the room, apparently for the trainer and their Pokemon, since there were seven of them- and the fact that May looked at her watch at that moment and said "Oops! Guess the tour took a little longer than I expected! It's time for dinner already! Just, um, dump your stuff on the floor, and you can get it later, okay?"

Once Wallace had dumped his bag on the ground, he ran down the hallway to catch up to them. Lucario just smirked, before grabbing the other two and Teleporting them outside. May turned round and looked confused, until she realised they were at the school's gates, and started laughing.

"So, you do know how to have fun, do ya?"

Lucario just flashed the two her trademark smirk, and laughed a little.

"The funny thing is, May, that Wallace doesn't know where the dining area is. You didn't show us that bit of the school on the tour."

May realised then that Lucario had planned this all along, to try and cause her trainer to miss dinner.

"Why you conniving little...You better Teleport us back there right now, Lucario. Right now."

Max just tried not to burst out laughing at the scene playing out before him. He had had an inkling of what Lucario was planning to do- that and the fact that he had suggested it to her quietly while Wallace had been talking to May about the kitchen area of the common room. Lucario had been only too happy to try and annoy her trainer slightly. Trying to swallow his laughter- and actually, for the most part, managing to do so, Max said that May was right, and that Lucario should take them back to the living area. Lucario said nothing, jut grabbed their arms and Teleported them back to where they had been before, trying not to laugh at the expression on Wallace's face when she reappeared right in front of him. She didn't have time to gloat, since she had inadvertently Teleported Max and May directly on top of Wallace, causing the three of them to go toppling to the ground in a writhing mass of limbs and yells.

Once the group had recovered, and Wallace had decided to ignore Lucario, the four of them set off, Lucario and Max still sniggering to themselves ever so slightly.

"So, Wallace. Why do you think Lucario doesn't like you?"

"It's not that she doesn't like me, May, it's more the fact that we've been partners so long that I started to treat her as a sister, even when she was a Riolu. My dad may have been a good breeder, but he was a rubbish parent, so I had to play the role of brother to Riolu, to make sure she was alright."

"What does your father have to do with any of this, Wallace?"

"Um... I'll tell you some other time." Wallace had just noticed that Lucario was eavesdropping, and he had no wish to be dragged into another argument with her. After that, the group walked the rest of the way to the dining area in a rather subdued manner, with the occasional directions from May or Max, and one or two awkward stabs at conversation that quickly died down again. It was a relief to them all when they finally made it to the canteen-not that it looked like a canteen, it looked more like a banquet hall- and Lucario immediately stalked off to grab something to eat off one of the many tables that looked like they could collapse under the weight of the food on them. May went off to sit with her friends, while Wallace and Max headed for another table nearby. Max instantly grabbed one of the sandwiches off a platter on the table, so fast that Wallace almost didn't see it. Wallace grabbed a plate, and piled food onto it until some of the food started to fall off.

The two friends headed for one of the two tables that didn't have anyone sitting at them. Wallace had originally head for one at the far right of the canteen, but Max had steered him to the other table, letting him know that that particular table was where the teachers sat. When Wallace had finished his first plateful, and grabbed another small mountain of food, Max finally gave in to his curiosity.

"So, uh, what were you talking about earlier? You know, with May?"

Wallace choked on the cocktail sausage he had been eating, and grabbed his glass, gulping the juice down to stop himself from choking.

"Why do you want to know?"

"It's a curse, I'm afraid. Just too inquisitive for his own good, this one."

A blue-haired girl in a microskirt had walked over during the conversation, and was now digging her elbow into Max shoulder. Wallace and Max looked over and saw May talking animatedly to the other person at her table, a black haired teenager with a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. Well, at least this hadn't been some kind of set-up, they both thought.

"Course, I'm a little too inquisitive for my own good, too. But unlike Max, here, I have the good sense to shut up when people don't want to talk about something."

"Umm... Sorry, but I don't think we've met before."

"Oh! Of course, of course. You did only just arrive, after all. It's only natural that you wouldn't know who I am. My name's Dawn. Oh, and that guy over there talking to May? He's called Ash. I say talking, but to be honest, it's more chatting her up. He is obsessed. She's made it clear time and again that she just isn't interested, but he just won't quit. Arceus knows, we've tried everything to make him give up, but he just won't take a hint. So, what's your name?"

"Umm... My name's Wallace. Nice to meet you."

"Ha! That's a good one, Wallace. Nice to meet her, indeed! She doesn't know how to shut up."

"Hmph. I do too know how to be quiet, Maxie. I just don't like silence that much. So, I fill it with noise instead."

"Don't call me Maxie! My name is Max, not Maxie! You got that, ya noisy harpy?"

"Umm... Max? I really don't mind if Dawn likes to talk a lot. And what's wrong with Maxie?"

"What's wrong with it? What's right with it, that's the shorter answer! It makes me sound like some stupid kid, and I hate it!"

"Well, alright, I guess. It does sound kinda dumb, I guess. And if you want to know, me and May were talking about me and Lucario."

Max sat there, obviously hoping Wallace would go into more detail about his conversation with May, but when it became obvious that no more information was forthcoming, he went back to berating Dawn for calling him Maxie instead of Max.

"Well, if you don't like Maxie, then how about Maximillion? That is your full name, after all. And it's much more formal than Max. Just remember, if you play with fire, you're gonna get burned, Maximillion."

"Gah! That's even worse than Maxie! And what are you, some sort of hackneyed quip generator? I'm half expecting you to start spouting some inspirational speech from a movie right about now."

May suddenly detached herself from the table she had been clawing at for the past few minutes, and stormed over to them. Dawn saw her coming, and grabbed a plateful of mini sausage rolls.

"Umm... Dawn? What are the sausage rolls for?"

Not bothering to turn round, Dawn just replied, "They calm her down." This shut Max up automatically, as he looked at the rapidly approaching May, who looked angry enough to beat anyone to within an inch of their life for no reason whatsoever. As soon as she reached them, Dawn held out the plate of sausage rolls. May picked one at random, scrunched it into a ball, and threw it at Ash, who just laughed, and yelled across the room, in a high-pitched voice that made Wallace ask everyone rather loudly if Ash's balls had dropped or not, "At least you're throwing food this time, May!" Of course, when Wallace asked about Ash's gender, the black haired boy shut up pretty quickly, and May actually laughed, while still frowning. It produced a very odd expression that no-one quite knew how to describe. May started to cheer up after that, and instead of throwing the sausage rolls at Ash, she ate them instead. Wallace and Dawn began talking about classes, and Dawn explained that tomorrow's class was something to do with being able to sense your Pokemon partners through the bond that they shared with their trainers.

"The teacher won't tell us exactly what the excercise is, but I have a feeling it's going to be interesting. After all, I overhead the teacher's talking about hiring several vans to take the students to different 'entrances'. It's probably some kind of maze. At least that's what I think. Maximillion here disagrees with me, don't you?"

"I told you not to call me Maxie or Maximillion, Dawn! Or shall I start calling you Deedee again, hm?"

"You wouldn't dare, you little rat."

"Wouldn't I, Deedee? Wouldn't I?"

"Hrrm... fine, I'll stop making up dumb names for you. So anyway, Wallace, did May and Max give you the grand welcome tour already?"

"Yeah. I didn't realise the school was quite so huge though. I mean, you've got more classrooms and facilities than you really need here."

"Yeah, I know. But, the principal says it's because we might need the space someday. I don't see why we would, but who cares? It's too late at night to argue the point, and I'm tired. See you all tomorrow."

Wallace, Max and May all agreed that they were tired too, and headed up to bed. The only minor distraction were when Lucario Teleported over to talk to Dawn, and when Ash tried another dumb, probably cheesy pickup line on May. Of course, only Ash would have been able to know what the line was, as before he had said two words, May had finally lost her patience, and punched him in the face. The group headed onwards, leaving a very sore-faced Ash on the floor behind them. Lucario admitted that May could really punch, and that she should try some form of martial art as a hobby.

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A/N: Well, that's chapter 2. I hope it was worth the long wait, because I know I haven't updated in forever, and for that I apologise. Anyway, keep on reading, as the next chapter will be up and running far sooner than this oe was. It won't take me nearly three to four months to update this story again, I promise. Thank you for staying loyal to this story, everyone.


	3. The Race

A/N: Hello again, and welcome back to this story! I guess there isn't really much to say other than that I don't own Pokemon, and as usual, I give full credit to dairu123 for the location and original idea of this story. Also, I know that it may not be possible to breed a Lucario with an Alakazam, but for the purpose of this story, we'll pretend it is possible. That's really all I have to say, so let's move on with this story, shall we?

There it goes again, Wallace thought to himself, what is with that annoying noise?

"Will you get out of bed, you lazy good-for-nothing! We're gonna miss class unless you hurry up!"

Rolling over, he groaned slightly. A fuzzy blue shape swam around in his line of vision, before it cleared up to reveal Lucario standing over him, a bucket of water in her paws, poised to tip it over his head. That got his attention. In three seconds flat Wallace was on the other side of the room, and Lucario was smirking at him again, looking like she was trying not to burst out laughing.

"I know that sometimes I don't want to train in the morning, but you're taking it to extremes I wouldn't have thought possible. You've been asleep for three hours longer than you should have been, and now you run to the other side of the room? Make up your mind, will you?"

"Well, I didn't exactly expect to see you standing over me with a bucket of cold water, did I?"

"_Ice_-cold, actually. You missed breakfast, but May suggested I save you some food to eat. You'll probably need it today, since the principal told us that this was going to challenge us physically and mentally. Now, eat your breakfast and get a shower. Then meet us outside in about ten minutes. You remember the way, I'm sure. I'll see you out there."

With that, Lucario Teleported away, leaving Wallace standing wondering what had just happened. Deciding it would be better to keep moving, instead of pretending it had been a dream and going back to bed, he started to wolf down the roll and bacon that Lucario had brought with her to the room after breakfast, before grabbing a towel and taking a quick shower. Once he was done, he dressed in one of his favourite outfits- blue denim jeans and a black T-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it. That was the outfit he had been wearing when he won the Kanto League, and he had had fond memories of it ever since. It was a symbol that he didn't need or want to involve himself with his father as well, though only Lucario knew that.

May and Max were arguing over how to keep Ash away from May in the common room, while Dawn was combing her hair, and Ash was talking to Lucario about what she thought would be the best way to win May's heart, when Wallace arrived. The principal was the first to notice his arrival, and when the others had all split up and piled into two separate minivans- Wallace and Lucario were on seperate transports, May noticed- before the drivers pulled away from the school, and went in opposite directions. May had decided to try and talk to Wallace, so had sat on the same bus as him. Unfortunately, Ash had seen May get on the bus, and followed her. Max, Dawn and Lucario had all gone on the other bus. The principal, who was on Wallace's bus, spoke into an intercom system, before announcing that he was ready to reveal what they were going to do today.

"Today's excercise is a teamwork challenge, and a trust excercise. You will make your way through an obstacle course, before all three members of each team will enter a different entrance to a maze. The passageways will meet at random intervals, so you will eventually meet up. However, there will be further obstacles in your way, which will require you all to work as a team to overcome. At the end, there will be a running track. The first group to have all three of their members with their hands touching the pedestal in the centre will win. Questions?"

"What do we get if we win?"

"Good question, May. Apart from the respect of the other team, you will be able to skip afternoon classes if your team wins. Now, as I tell you this, the other team are being informed of the challenge as well. Remember, if you do not win, that Max, Dawn and Wallace's Lucario will be exempt from classes, and will be able to lounge about. If that isn't motivation to work together and win this challenge, I have no idea what is. Now, we're approaching the obstacle course, so let's get ready to run, shall we?"

Lucario had decided at dinner the previous night that she was going to enrol as an actual student, rather than a student's Pokemon partner, and so was now considered a proper pupil. That had been one little detail that she had neglected to inform Wallace of, though May was only too willing to have her attention drawn away from Ash, who was now staring at her lecherously.

"Yeah, Wallace, she said she didn't like being stuffed into a Pokeball all day long, and so she's now a kind of unofficial student. She sits in on all the classes, and everything we do, she does too, but she's not exactly a full student as such."

"Ah. Oh well, that's fine by me. Least we can compete with one another here."

While they had been talking about this, they had been filing off the bus, and by now they were standing in front of the obstacle course.

"Woah. No way can we manage this! It's impossible!"

"You know Ash, if hanging around with Lucario has taught me anything, it's that the impossible, is usually only improbable."

"Hmph. I still say it's impossible."

The principal then informed them that they were now allowed to begin the challenge, and Wallace set off underneath the wire sheet. May and Ash followed, albeit slightly less effectively. By the time they were done with crawling through the mud, he was already grappling with one of the ropes hanging down from a sheer, ninety-degree angled wall, littered with boxing gloves on springs that punched out at random intervals. The two ran over and joined Wallace. May's curiosity was too great for her to contain, and she asked Wallace why he was so at ease with military combat style courses. All he would say about the matter was "My father wanted me to be the perfect soldier." Wallace then proceeded to climb over the giant wall, deftly avoiding the random boxing gloves sent his way. May was succeeding as well, albeit less efficiently, but Ash had somehow managed to tie himself up in the rope, and was struggling against it like a fish in a net, wriggling this way and that to try and break free. Wallace made it to the top, followed by May, and together the two of them pulled Ash up the wall, untied him, then the three of them slid down the other side, Wallace rolling head-over-heels, before settling into a controlled military stance. It hit him a moment later where he was, and he seemed to relax slightly. It was then that he noticed the water in front of them.

"No. No. No. I can't do this bit. I never do this bit."

"What's wrong? You're acting odd, Wallace."

Lucario had reached the same part of their obstacle course that the other team were at, and despite herself, she tried to encourage Wallace. Not much, but enough to make him move. Fire in his eyes, Wallace dove into the water quickly, but once he reached the bottom, he started to worry again, squirming and wriggling to try and find his way to the surface, not realizing that he was just sending himself into the riverbed. Ash had already swum across, but May had seen Wallace's fear of the water, and waited until she could see him. When he didn't appear on the other side of the river they had to swim across, though, she dove into the water, and pulled him to the surface after realizing that he wasn't able to find his way to the surface himself. When she made it to the opposite bank to the one they had started from, she hoisted him out, before dragging her own body out the water. As soon as Wallace realized he wasn't underwater anymore, he seemed to calm down, but May was determined to get answers this time.

"Okay, spill it, Wallace! Why couldn't you swim across that river back there? We weren't even at the widest point. What happened to make you afraid of water?"

"My dad-" Wallace began to say, before abruptly cutting himself off, rolling over, getting to his feet and running on towards the next obstacle.

"Oh, come on! What happened with his dad? And why doesn't he wanna talk about it?"

May decided that answers would have to wait, but resolved to corner him and demand he tell her everything at the first possible opportunity. Ash was halfway under the second sheet of wire when Wallace managed to catch up to him. May took slightly longer, but by the time the three of them had made it under the wire, the principal was standing at the entrance to a gigantic stone labyrinth. The other two entrances were on either side of him, looking like three gigantic mouths ready to swallow them. The group walked over to the principal, where he handed them a flashlight each, before sending them to their respective entrances, telling them that the connections between the passages were disguised, and they would have to work together to find each other.

Wallace entered the maze by the far-left entrance, Ash through the far-right entrance, and May used the middle entrance, looking back just in time to see the principal in their minivan, speeding towards the exit of the maze, before the entrances slid shut, locking the three of them in. Wllace, not wanting to waste time, set off immediately, while the others took slightly longer to set off, having let their eyes adjust to the gloom before trying to navigate the maze.

Before too long, May noticed a faint light coming from her left, a short way down her passageway. Running towards it, she yelled out, in case anyone was on the other side. A moment later, the 'wall' was broken down from the other side, revealing Wallace.

"Paper-mache blocks, disguised as the real thing. Sneaky, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but not as sneaky as you are, Wallace. Now tell me, why so secretive? And what does your dad have to do with all this? And why does he want you to be the 'perfect soldier'? Why won't you trust any of us?"

"Because the last time I trusted someone, they gave me this."

Wallace then turned round and lifted up the back of his shirt, revealing a massive scar that ran from his right shoulder, down to his waistline.

"Who... did that to you?"

"Give you three guesses."

"Your dad?"

"Bingo. With a sword. I didn't get a good time on one of the courses he set up, so he punished me. Severely."

"But...but how could a father do that to his son? His own flesh and blood?"

"Hmph. That's hardly the worst of it. The reason I couldn't do the swimming part of the course? Again, one of my father's punishments. I said no to him when he asked me to swim acroos a pond, so he picked me up and threw me into the water, then held me there until I ran out of air. Probably would have drowned me if Riolu hadn't punched him in the face. After that, whenever Riolu did something wrong, I always got in the way and let him punish me instead. She saved my life, so I protected her from my own father."

The two of them had been walking while having the conversation, and May had been growing steadily more disgusted with the things that she was hearing.

"So why does Lucario hate you, if you protected her as a child?"

"She doesn't hate me, she hates what I did. She remembers everything, May. Every yell that I let escape my lips, every tear that fell onto her fur as I cried myself to sleep. She remembers everything. And she hates that I wouldn't let her be punished, because she knows it just brought me more pain."

"How...how old were you?"

"Ten, eleven. When I turned twelve I left. Ran away with Riolu and never looked back. Been on the road ever since."

"Four years without any support from your family? But what about your mum? Surely she could have helped you out?"

"Dead. Dad's fault."

That brought an end to their conversation, and the two continued along the path for a while, before Wallace stopped, and ran his hand across the wall, finally stopping at one spot, and backing up to the opposite wall, before running and kicking the wall, which crumbled.

"How-"

"Texture of paper-mache is different. And it causes a slight change in temperature."

Wallace stuck his head through the massive gap in the wall that had just been created, before spotting Ash, and yelling at him to hurry up. With the three of them reunited, they headed along to the exit to the maze, only getting lost a few times. When they reached the exit, the principal was standing there, waiting for them. The group handed back their torches, before listening to him explain the final part of the course.

"Firstly, no Pokemon moves may be used inside this area. That means no Teleport, no Rock Climb, no Pokemon moves at all. Secondly, at the centre of this area is a stone pedestal. The first group to have all of their members touching the pedestal wins the challenge. Finally, there are a number of pitfall traps scattered around the track. These are very deep pits, and are nigh on impossible to escape from without help from your teammates. You will need to work together if you are to win this challenge, now more than ever. Good luck to you, and may the better team win!"

The three of them took of as soon as the principal fired a starting gun, May and Ash taking an early lead on Wallace. That is, until Ash fell into one of the traps. Wallace grabbed him while he was passing, before he could fall too far into the pit, and hauled him out onto his feet.

"That's why you always have one team member hang back for a while. To make sure nothing bad happens to the people in front."

The two of them started running again, Wallace still staying a few metres behind the others. By now, the other team were in sight, and Wallace could see that Lucario had adopted the same idea as him. She was hanging back from the group, never making any move to catch up, though Wallace knew quite well that she could run faster than him if she wanted to. She could probably lap everyone in the school twice without tiring. He could see the pedestal now, and knew that he would have to catch up with the others if was to stand a chance of outrunning Lucario. Within a few minutes, he had caught up to May, who just laughed at his sudden burst of speed, before also putting on a last burst of speed making her the first person to touch the pedestal. Ash then ran past Wallace, jumping towards the pedestal- a stupid thing to do, he found out, when he smashed into the structure face-first. Wallace shook his head, before running on ahead. He had a good lead on Lucario, but they were the only two who weren't at the finishing point, and even though Wallace had the lead, Lucario could outrun him without needing to use Extremespeed or Teleport. He turned the corner onto the final stretch of the course, but Lucario had evidentely decided she didn't want to lose, and was quickly catching up. Wallace knew he would be able to make a quick dash to the pillar before Lucario had a chance to catch up to and overtake him. He started running, but before he made it to the finishing point, Lucario yelled out from behind him in pain. Turning, he saw her clutching at her leg in pain. While he was trying to decide whether to finish the course or go back and help her, Lucario jumped up and started running, making Wallace want to punch himself for being so dumb. He had fallen for a stupid trick, and it could well cost him the prize. Turning around quickly, he started running towards the end of the course, trying desperately to stay ahead of Lucario. In his haste, however, he didn't noticed a rock on the course, and promptly tripped, a few yards from victory. Lucario ran past him, and Wallace could see her laughing, before she disappeared from sight. Struggling to his feet, Wallace ran towards the spot he had last seen her in, only to find that Lucario had fallen prey to her own haste, as well. She was hanging on to the edge of one of the pitfall traps, trying to climb out, to no avail.

"Serves you right for laughing at me, Lucario!"

Wallace was just about to run on to the pedestal, when the ground shook slightly, nearly dislodging Lucario. Images flashed into Wallace's mind unbidden- one of his father's most lethal courses, covered in pitfall traps filled with poisoned spikes. His father's Rhydon using Earthquake when Riolu was barely hanging on to the edge of the pit. Riolu falling backwards into the pit. Him reaching out and grabbing Riolu to save her. His father standing over him with his sword, slashing it downwards. Him rolling on top of Riolu. The sword biting into the front of his chest, making a clean diagonal slice, to match the one on his back. Him yelling in pain. His father just walking off, one word floating back to him. "Failure."

Without thinking, Wallace grabbed Lucario, just as she started to fall backwards into the pit. She had seen everything that had flashed through his mind, and knew he was replaying the incident again. It had been when she was only ten years old- the same age Wallace had been at that point. His mother had died the year before that, and he was only barely beginning to get over her death. Wallace was still holding onto Lucario's paw, trying to drag her up, and back onto solid ground. Lucario swung her other paw up onto the lip of the pit, and started trying to drag herself out of the trap. After several minutes, Wallace succeeded in dragging Lucario out of the pit, and collapsed on the ground, panting.

"Just... go on. You can... finish the course. I... don't stand... a chance... against you."

"No."

Wallace rolled over, looking at her oddly. "What?"

"I said, no. I'm not going to beat you. I can't."

"Course you can. You can run faster than me even when I'm full of energy. Go on. Finish the race, Lucario."

" I already said no. It's not a question of running faster. You just stopped me from getting seriously injured, just like you always have done. I'm not moving until you go with me."

"Lucario, don't be so stubborn, and just go. Even if I did have all my energy, we're neck-and-neck right now, and you'd always get the lead on me. I'm going to run, but I don't expect to win. You go on ahead and don't feel sorry for me."

Lucario didn't say anything, just stood up and hauled Wallace to his feet, before beginning to walk towards the pedestal while supporting Wallace.

"Lucario?"

"Consider it a thank you for not just leaving me back there."

Wallace started to walk towards the stone pedestal as well, no longer supported by Lucario, but still drawing even with her. Neither of them made any move to draw ahead of the other, and their classmates did nothing but stare at them. May was the only one of them other than Wallace or Lucario that would have been able to figure out why the two were acting like this. By this point, Max and Dawn were yelling to Lucario to run, and Ash was yelling at Wallace to shove Lucario back into the pitfall trap. He stopped after May punched him again, though. Wallace and Lucario drew even with the stone pedestal, and simultaneously laid their hand/paw on the smooth stone surface, ending the race in a draw. The principal walked over to the two groups, congratulating them on their effort, before starting to talk about what happened next.

"Now, since neither team actually won the race, you would all normally have to go to class for the afternoon." A collective groan rose from all six of the pupils. "However." All heads turned to face the principal at this point. "Due to the outstanding display of trust and friendship displayed by Wallace and Lucario, I'm going to let all of you off timetable for this afternoon. Enjoy your break, everyone. You've certainly earned it."

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A/N: Wow. This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my stories so far. I just hate when you can't seem to stop writing one chapter, because it disrupts your plans for all the other chapters. Ah well. So, to recap this chapter, Wallace's dad is worse than Satan, and Wallace and Lucario have become slightly better friends. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as long as this one. Until then, everyone!


End file.
